Tag Archives: 06-12-2013

Manatee County commissioners in 2008 approved plans to develop Long Bar Pointe, a bayfront area on the mainland near the IMG Academy and IMG Golf Club.

Only the road leading to the residential development was finished, including a roundabout at 75th Street West and 53rd Avenue West leading to El Conquistador Parkway in unincorporated Manatee County.

Developers were set to make a new presentation to county commissioners last week, looking for substantial changes to the approved plans, as well as comprehensive plan changes, when stormy weather brought on by Tropical Storm Andrea brought a halt to the June 6 meeting.

The new plans call for a more intense development, requiring dredging and demolition of 20-40 acres of mangrove forest and acres of seagrasses to allow canal entry to a 300-berth marina from Sarasota Bay.

A future land-use map change to mixed-use development and a comp-plan text amendment would allow increased development within areas of coastal and conservation elements in the plan.

The project is being guided through the governmental process by the developer, Berrington Group, and Larry Lieberman, who has owned the property for 13 years. Within the past year, he brought Medallion Homes into the development to help see the project to completion.

Environmentalists, including some islanders, were lined up to fight the proposed changes.

Barbara Hines of Holmes Beach, vice chair of the environmental group ManaSota-88, called the new plan an “environmental disaster.” She said dredging for the marina is in an “area that’s shallow, filled with seagrass and a marine nursery, and they would cut through mangroves.”

She also noted that new housing in a coastal high hazard zone is ill conceived and effects countywide disaster planning, as well as storm evacuation for islanders.

“It will effect all that we hold dear, including effects to commercial and recreational fishers,” Hines said.

The 2008 approval included the maximum number of residential units for the property’s zoning, including:

• 1,667 single-family homes.

• 2,501 multi-family homes.

• 150,000 square feet of commercial development.

The revised Long Bar Pointe plan reviewed by the county planning board includes:

• 1,086 single-family homes.

• 1,687 low-rise multi-family homes.

• 844 high-rise multi-family homes.

• 300-room hotel.

• 300-berth marina and canal.

• Two 36,000-square-foot office buildings.

• 60,000-square-foot shopping center.

• 60,000-square-foot specialty retail.

• 84,000-square-foot conference center.

County staff has said the map amendment change poses no problem, but the text amendment request raised red flags, and they recommended the commission deny the changes.

To obtain recommendation for the comp-plan change, the developer must cite how the property qualifies for development in environmentally sensitive areas, including how to:

• Provide enhanced water-related uses.

• Provide new, substantial, material public benefit.

• Increase public access to waterfront.

• Mitigate all environmental impacts.

• Incorporate innovative design for mixed-use.

• Include minimum land mass of 100 acres.

And it must be adjacent to existing navigable waters and adjacent to arterial roadway.

One of the reasons offered to deny the text amendment is that it affects the entire county, and the developer only justifies benefits of new zoning to Long Bar Pointe.

The amendment allows the most intense mixed use zoning offered by the county.

The neighboring IMG Academy already is experiencing major expansion, including construction of a 5,000-seat multi-sport stadium.

IMG Academy welcomes the resort addition, according to a letter to the county from Chip McCarthy, vice president of finance and operations of IMG Academy.

The Long Bar Pointe plans do not include building designs or a layout of a proposed marina and canal.

The developer would, however, require removal of up to 40 acres of mangroves and more than two acres of seagrass to create a waterway allowing large boats to enter a harbor that would be created on uplands on the property.

The Long Bar Pointe website states the mangrove area will undergo clearing of nuisance trees — Brazilian peppers — where Manatee Fruit Farms operations are “choking off” mangroves, according to the developer’s environmental consultant.

But the county staff says the submitted plan lacks information on how it would mitigate impacts on the 117 acres of privately owned submerged land that includes “significant seagrass beds,” providing habitat for marine life, including areas frequented by manatees.

The staff also reports dredging that adversely impacts seagrass beds is prohibited by the comprehensive plan.

Before the meeting was canceled, environmentalists were already rallying against the development, proposed changes to the county’s environmental policies and the appearance of Sarasota Bay.

A group of concerned residents, including Hines, former County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann and Glenn Compton, chair of ManaSota-88, met prior to the June 6 county meeting in Cortez to talk about their opposition to Long Bar Pointe.

“We rarely get to see the adult sea turtles, so to see a sick one return to the water healthy is a wonderful thing, and to share it with the public is special,” said Fox. “I see real estate professionals, doctors, a retired veterinarian technician and a lot of teachers mixed in this crowd. For many of them, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Mote interns and staff carried Tyler to the water’s edge and the release went quickly as the healthy loggerhead scampered into the open water with a second chance at life.

Within seconds, the turtle disappeared.

Tyler’s sex is unknown, according to Mote medical coordinator Lynn Byrd, who said the turtle was still too young to know for sure.

What Byrd did know for sure is that Tyler was close to death when the turtle was found on the shore of Anna Maria, close to Seagrape Lane.

Good Samaritans found Tyler on the beach March 16, lethargic and unable to move.

Tyler arrived at Mote with a red blood count of six.

“It’s supposed to be around 30,” said Byrd. “So the turtle was close to dying.”

Byrd said the condition is called lethargic loggerhead syndrome.

“It’s a parasite that gets into the bloodstream,” said Byrd. “We don’t know how, but as long as we get the turtle soon enough, the recovery rate is excellent.”

Byrd said a supplemental diet combined with antibiotics, and of course some tender loving care, typically gets the turtle back into a healthy state.

“What happens is that once infected, the turtle is unable to move,” she said. “They float ashore or float to the surface and are picked off by predators.”

That would not be Tyler’s fate and as the loggerhead quickly ducked under the waves, Byrd said, “This is the best. Any day we can return a healthy sea turtle back into the water is a good day.”

The Islander Top Notch digital photo contest will begin publishing weekly winning photos June 26. Six weekly winning photos will be featured on the cover of The Islander, and one photo will be a grand prize winner of $100 cash prize from The Islander and other prizes and gift certificates from local merchants. Weekly winners receive a “More Than a Mullet Wrapper” Islander T-shirt.

The weekly deadline is noon Friday throughout the contest, with the first deadline June 21.

Top Notch judging begins with a selection of pictures that may include family, landscapes and scenics, candid snapshots, action, holidays, humor and animal pictures. Nothing is overlooked, including kid pics, sentimental moments and moments of personal triumph. This year, judges also will be looking for top pet photos with a prize appropriate to pets from Perks 4 Pets and The Islander.

Digital contest entries should be submitted in original JPG format via email to topnotch@islander.org.

Digital entries are required. Only photo cropping is allowed. No retouching, enhancements or computer manipulation is allowed.

Entries must include one photo attachment/entry per email with the required information in the e-mail text. There is no limit to the number of weekly entries, and entries need not be repeated, as photos not selected but preferred by the judges are moved forward each week.

Entries not meeting requirements are disqualified.

Top Notch contest rules

1) The Islander Newspaper Top Notch Photo Contest is strictly for amateur photographers — those who derive less than 5 percent of their income from photography.

2) Black-and-white and color digital photographs taken after Jan. 1, 2012, are eligible. Photos previously published (in any format/media) or entered in any Islander or other competition are not eligible.

3) Photographs may be taken with any camera. No retouching or other alteration (except cropping) is permitted; no composite or multiple print images; no camera App manipulation will be accepted. Digital photos must be submitted in JPG file format. Prints and slides are not accepted.

4) Entrant’s name, address and phone number must be included either in the email or affixed to the back of each print submitted. One email per photo submission. Email single entries to topnotch@islander.org.

5) Entrants by their entry agree that The Islander may publish their pictures for local promotion. Entrants must provide the original digital image if requested by the contest editor. All photos submitted become the property of The Islander. The Islander and contest sponsors assume no responsibility for maintaining submissions.

Entrant must provide the name and address of any recognizable persons appearing in the picture with the entry.

6) Employees and paid contributors to The Islander and their immediate family members are not eligible.

• July 4, the Anna Maria Island Privateers Independence Day Parade from Coquina Beach to Bayfront Park, and Scholarships Awards Party at Manatee Public Beach.

Save the date

• Sept. 2 is Labor Day.

Calendar announcements

Send calendar announcements to calendar@islander.org. Please include the time, date and location of the event, a brief description and a contact via email and phone. The deadline for submissions is the Wednesday a week before publication. High-resolution photographs welcome.

Center crowns youth b-ball champs, adults enter playoffs

The Anna Maria Island Community Center’s youth basketball season came to an end June 7 after a one-day delay due to Tropical Storm Andrea.

Not one top seed among three divisions captured its championship as second-seeds Heritage Paper Co. in the premier division and Walter & Associates in the 11-13 division and third-seed Manatee Cancer Center in the 8-10 division all scored upset victories.

Heritage Paper Company advanced to the championship game by defeating Eat Here 39-25 June 5. Austin Miller poured in 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Heritage, which also received 5 points from Burke Hill and 4 points apiece from Adam Clark and Jesse Lawson.

Connor Field’s 9 points and 11 rebounds and 8 points, three rebounds and three assists led the Eat Here offensive attack.

Walter & Associates advanced to the premier division championship game by defeating The Feast 43-32 June 4. Phil Rottes scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Colin Rottes added 12 points to lead Walter & Associates, which also received 5 points from Neil Carper and 4 points from Seth Walter in the victory.

Ryan Gilman scored 13 points and Alex Gilman added 8 points to lead The Feast in the loss.

In the 11-13 division championship, a younger Walter & Associates team carried a 45-33 victory over Ross Built behind the inside-outside combination of JP Russo and Dayton Modderman. Russo scored 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Modderman added 20 points and 20 rebounds to lead Walter. Jack Heckler finished with 2 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.

Trent Boring’s 17 points and 24 rebounds paced Ross, which also received 9 points from Jake Ross and 8 points and seven rebounds from brother Andrew Ross in the loss.

Ross Built advanced to the finals with a 47-27 defeat of fifth-seed Duncan Real Estate, which upset fourth-seed Southern Greens 40-33 June 3. Ross Built received 22 points and 19 rebounds from Trent Boring and 19 points and nine rebounds from Jake Ross. Andrew Ross completed the scoring for Ross Built, while Anna Pears grabbed six rebounds in the victory.

Duncan Real Estate was led by Brooke Capparelli and Leo Rose, who each scored 8 points. Leo Tililli added 6 points and 12 rebounds, while Trent Shackelford finished with 5 points in the loss.

Walter & Associates defeated Sand Dollar 51-46 on June 5 to advance to the 11-13 championship game behind 28 points, seven rebounds and two assists from JP Russo and 17 points and 19 rebounds from Dayton Modderman. Jack Heckler added 4 points and seven rebounds and Joseph Peery finished with 2 points in the victory.

Manatee Cancer Center, which won only two regular-season games, swept to the finals and defeated top-seeded Beach Bistro 22-6 in the championship matchup for the 8-10 division. Silas Banyas scored 10 points and Jack Groves added 8 points and 10 rebounds to lead MCC. Joshy Calhoun completed the scoring with 4 points in the victory.

David Daigle, Cameron Gish and Thomas Heckler scored 2 points each to lead Bistro in the loss.

Manatee Cancer Center advanced to the finals by defeating No. 2 seed Beach Bums 22-12 June 4. Silas Banyas scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Manatee Cancer Center, which also received 6 points from Jack Groves, 4 points from Joshy Calhoun and 2 points from Joe Ross in the victory.

Ava Zink’s 6 points and five rebounds and 4 points and five rebounds from Tuna McCracken led Beach Bums, which also received 2 points and seven rebounds from Daniel Sentman in the loss.

Adult b-ball playoffs start

The center’s adult basketball playoffs got underway June 4 with a pair of first-round games. Island Real Estate advanced with a win over Duncan Real Estate 65-44 behind a game-high 27 points and 14 rebounds from Dylan Bower. Jim Lynch added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Teagan Purtil finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Taylor helped out with 7 points and seven rebounds, while Bobby Dawes finished with 6 points, six rebounds and five assists in the victory.

Philip Slack scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Duncan, which also received 10 points and 11 rebounds from Todd Keiser and 8 points from Serena Samuels in the loss.

Gator Man Pools defeated Southern Greens 56-42 in the second playoff matchup of the evening behind a balanced scoring attack led by Aaron Dudukes, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Joe Combs added 13 points, while Richard Fosmore and Matt Dwyer finished with 10 points each in the victory.

Jonathan Moss scored 14 points and Robert Serrano added 10 points to lead Southern Greens, which also received 8 points each from Jordan Demers and Scott Eason in the loss.

Key Royale golf news

The women of the Key Royale Club played a nine-hole, individual-low-gross golf match June 4. Sue Hookem carded a 43 to take first place in Flight A by one shot over second-place finisher Jean Holmes.

Liz Lang’s 45 gave her the low gross score in Flight B, while Roxanne Koche took second with a 52.

Low-net winner in Flight A was Terry Westby at 2-under-par 30, while Lang’s 3-under-par 29 was low-net winner in Flight B.

Horseshoe news

Only two teams advanced to the knockout round during June 8 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits. Hank Huyghe and George McKay defeated Norm Good and John Johnson 23-14 to earn the day’s bragging rights.

John Johnson and Bob Heiger were the only team to earn a 3-0 record in pool play and were the day’s outright champs.

Play gets underway at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection.

Steven Daniel Kaluza, 58, of Anna Maria Island, died June 10. He was born May 5, 1955, in Superior, Wis.

He was a local building contractor with Paradise Improvements since 2000. He was an eclectic artist and candle sculptor. He was a loving husband, father and uncle.

A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at Shannon Funeral Home, Westview Chapel, 5610 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton. Memorial donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity at Manateehabitat.org. Condolences for the family may be made online at www.shannonfuneralhomes.com.

He is survived by wife Frannie “Fancy Pants”; step-children Luke Andrews of Bradenton and Lane Andrews of Santa Monica, Calif.; father Dan of Superior, Wis.; sister Sondra and husband Dan Hirssig of Bradenton; brother Mike and wife Julie of Superior, Wis.; nieces Amber, Alicia, Jennifer and Ashley; nephew Richard; great-niece Larissa; and many extended family members and family..

Bernice I. Renald

Bernice I. Renald, 96, of Holmes Beach, died June 6. She was born in New York City and moved to Holmes Beach in 2012 from Eastchester, N.Y.

She received a bachelor’s degree in 1938 in biology from Hunter College and a master’s degree in education from Manhattanville College in 1970. She was a passionate educator for more than 25 years at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School, Scarsdale, N.Y.

Services were to be held in New York. Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, Bradenton, was in charge of arrangements. Memorial donations may be made to Tidewell Hospice Inc., 5955 Rand Blvd., Sarasota FL 34238. Condolences may be made online at www.brownandsonsfuneral.com.

Mrs. Renald is survived by daughter Laura Purcell; son Frank; brother Fred Meyer; son-in-law John Purcell and their families.

Nancy J. Stewartson

Nancy J. Stewartson of Holmes Beach died June 1. She was born May 31, 1930, in Concord, N.H., the daughter of the late Robert V. and Elbra (Rogers) Byron.

She retired with her husband to Anna Maria Island 30 years ago after vacationing here. Her parents moved to the island in the 1960s, and her father, Robert V. Byron, “Lord Byron,” was a well-known fisher at local piers.

She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother who read cookbooks as if they were novels. She loved to design and decorate homes, entertaining, the ocean and bicycling.

A private burial is planned in Tilton, N.H. Memorial donations may be made to Tidewell Hospice, 3355 26th St. W., Bradenton FL 34205.

Mrs. Stewartson is survived by her husband, Richard R.; daughters Sue Quimby of Holmes Beach/Sanbornton N.H., Laurie Reid of Cameron Park, Calif., and Debbie Fitzgerald of Laconia, N.H., five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Tarpon fishing heats up before tropical storm

Before our brush with Tropical Storm Andrea, the tarpon bite was beginning to heat up. Fish were spotted in the passes, along the beaches and at Egmont Key. Successful live bait offerings include pinfish, blue crabs, pass crabs, shiners and threadfin herring. Reports of fish 50-100 pounds were average.

Along the shorelines of Anna Maria Island, you should start spotting spawning snook cruising through the trough. A free-lined live shiner sight-casted from the beach or boat to the fish is a sure fire way to get your blood pumping. You can also use artificials like the MirrOlure MirrOdine or the Yozuri Crystal Minnow to get hooked up on the big catch-and-release fish.

Finally, spotted seatrout are responding to live and artificial baits. The grass flats on Anna Maria Sound are holding good numbers of fish in the range 12-20 pounds. For live bait, you can’t beat a shiner. For artificials, try a soft plastic such as a DOA Cal jig combined with a jighead to get a bite.

Finally, the highlight of this week’s fishing was a 50-pound sailfish caught by Bill Palmer on a live shiner while on a charter with Capt. Warren Girle. Girle spotted the fish while reeling in a bait. Once the fish was spotted, Girle instructed Palmer to stop reeling and the fish inhaled the bait, which started a 30-minute battle, to boat the fish, which was photographed and released.

Girle also is fishing for tarpon along the beaches of Anna Maria Island with good results. Using pass crabs or small blue crabs, Girle is managing to find the fish and to get a bite. Girle likes a rig consisting of 60-pound fluorocarbon leader connected to a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook with a uni-knot to target these large silver fish. On the reel, Girle is spooling up with 50-pound braid, which aids in casting ability and in total capacity on the spool. Average size of silver kings this past week was 100 pounds.

Moving offshore, Girle is catching a variety of species around ledges and hard bottom. Keeper-sizes of both red and gag grouper are being reeled up from the depths while using live shiners for bait. Mangrove snapper up to 18 inches also are being caught on shiners, as well as a 20-pound kingfish.

Dave Sork at the Anna Maria City Pier is seeing Spanish mackerel being caught on both morning and afternoon tides. With an abundance of bait, the macks are not just passing by like previous weeks. Now, upon arrival, macks in targetable numbers, are slashing through baits. Small white jigs lead the pack, but silver spoons and Gotcha plugs will get you hooked up, too. Expect to catch ladyfish and jack crevalle in the mix.

Pier fishers arriving for a nighttime hookup are being rewarded with blacktip sharks ranging 4-5 pounds. Hand-sized chunks of oily fish like bonito, jack crevalle or mackerel are getting the bite.

Bob Kilb at the Rod & Reel Pier says fishers there are catching a variety of fish on live baits, including shrimp and shiners. Mangrove snapper, black drum and redfish are being reeled up from under the pier in addition to catch-and-release snook. Pier fishers casting live shiners away from the pier are hooking up with Spanish mackerel.

Artificials like small white jigs or Gotcha plugs are resulting in Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle. For the jigs, pier fishers at the R&R like white speck rigs or crappie jigs.

Johnny Mattay at Island Discount Tackle spent the past week beach and pier fishing with good results. Catch-and-release snook fishing is in the early stages on both the beaches and piers. For pier fishing, Mattay is using stout gear to manhandle big fish out from under the pilings. For the beaches, Mattay likes to scale down to medium-weight tackle. Catch-and-release snook up to 40 inches are being caught on live shiners, threadfin herring or pinfish.

Other catches at the piers for Mattay include mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel and pompano. For the snapper, Mattay likes using a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader with a size-1 live bait hook. Adding a live shiner or shrimp and casting under the pier is resulting in snapper up to 14 inches. For the Spanish macks and pompano, Mattay is throwing small white jigs.

Shark fishing along the beaches is beginning to heat up, according to Mattay. On a recent trip along the beaches, Mattay managed to hook and land a 100-pound bull shark along with numerous blacktip sharks weighing 60 pounds. For bait, Mattay likes any oily fish such as mackerel, bonito or jack crevalle.

Capt. Rick Gross of Fishy Business Charters is targeting catch-and-release snook, spotted seatrout and redfish in southern Tampa Bay. By free-lining live shiners, Gross is putting his clients on keeper-sizes of all three species. For the catch-and-release snook, some are even exceeding the slot of 28-33 inches. On the beaches and passes, Gross is targeting tarpon. By using live threadfin herring, large shiners or small crabs, Gross is finding success with the silver king. Average size of the fish this past week was 80-100 pounds.

Individuals may place one free ad with up to three items, each priced $100 or less, 15 words or less. FREE, one week, must be submitted online. Email classifieds@islander.org, fax toll-free 1-866-362-9821. (limited time offer)

POWER NOLES CUSTOM 11.5-foot fiberglass tunnel hull with bass seats. Very stable! Great for fishing-stand on the side without tipping, go in really shallow waters. Very fun boat for anyone who wants to get on the water! 2001 25-hp Mercury 2-stroke, plus a trolling motor with battery. Must see! $2,150 obo. Call Toni, 941-928-8735.